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A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham

Christmas Table With French Words

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

A fascination with French words continues and has become a Christmas table setting with French words. Remember the little paperback pages from Words in a French Life on which I wrote a gold word, joyeux?

The paperback pages led to creating a Christmas table with more French words.

The golden joyeux goes so well with the gold chargers, white plates, and small glass ornaments at each place.

A French bleu violin's gold accents were meant to grace a Christmas tree, but could there be a more regal setting than with a single page from Words in a French Life?

The pages are fun to read, each telling a short story that incorporates a particular French word of the day and a few other French phrases relevant to the story. What a fun way to start a meal together!

Pale bleu notecards with graph grids came from a Parisian papeterie (stationery shop). Graph grid notecards and notebooks are standard designs for French school children's lessons and can be found at all papeteries. The stiff notecards make excellent place cards to pair with the other small touches of blue on the table.

Four names can be easily printed in a font with flourish on one notecard, then each name outlined with a gold paint pen. Doesn't Christmas conjure images of gold and curlicues in your mind? The rest of the year can be written in black in typesetters' mundane fonts, but not Christmas. Make everyone's name special for the magical time of the year, Christmas.

Have you spotted additional French words?

Noël in the swag overlooking the table?

The script on the puffy star may be French, then maybe not.

French or not? Can you decipher any of the words? Regardless, the star is another fun item to try to read.

Here's an idea for how to reuse a preserved boxwood that's no longer looking good.

Spray paint it gold to give it another lease on life.

Christmas is a joyous occasion that gives us a chance to revel in its beauty. There is no other concentrated time in the year filled with as much joy, peace, love, and goodwill. I love creating images and settings that celebrate the season and lift our spirits.

May you see your loved ones with eyes that perceive all that is good and right about them. For their rightness far, far outweighs their shortcomings. Lift up their spirits and in so doing, you lift up your own.

Judith, this is just beautiful! You've included so many special touches at your table. The french touches make it so much more elegant than your average table setting. I love the view out your windows too.

Paris, France

About Botanic Bleu

French Country and Christmas are the two touchstones of Botanic Bleu. French Country is a way of life, not just decorating, and Christmas is a way of life all year, not just during the traditional holiday season. Find a little joie de vivre each day at Botanic Bleu through memories of past experiences, through savoring experiences of the present moment, and through hope in the future. Follow along for French-inspired home decor, gardening tips, and moments in France.

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